


No One

by fereldanwench



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Coping, Gen, Loss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-05
Updated: 2016-01-05
Packaged: 2018-05-11 23:21:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5645539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fereldanwench/pseuds/fereldanwench
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sebastian tries to aid Kirkwall post-explosion.</p>
            </blockquote>





	No One

It had been two days since the Chantry burst into the sky. The marble still burned.  
  
Sebastian held a gloved hand over his mouth, dabbing the sweat beading in his scruff. He carefully stepped across the rubble, hot and smooth, glistening in the dying embers of the explosion. The scent of burning flesh and the crackling static of residual magic filled the hot air. His heart sank even deeper into his stomach with every wobbly step across the rubble.  
  
Hawke, named defacto viscount at the command of a kneeling templar, tried to convince him to go with Varric to The Hanged Man, to rest. Sebastian could not rest. Justice had been served--He had made certain of that--But this was no time to rest. Kirkwall was his home, his family, just as much as Starkhaven. Maybe more.  
  
He approached the newly dubbed knight-commander, standing in tarnished armor and singed robes next to Aveline.  
  
"Sebastian," she said, her voice a blend of sympathy and reproach. "I thought Hawke told you to stay in Lowtown."  
  
"I'm here to help," he replied.  
  
"I won't say no to another hand," Cullen said. The dark circles under his eyes had darkened even more, and the red soot in his hair and scruff on his face suggested he hadn't washed since the confrontation with Stannard. Sebastian was certain the scent of lyrium was stronger than usual.  
  
Aveline lifted her brows at him. Hawke must have given orders to keep him away. She was always quick to accept power and dole out commands.  
  
"We need all the help we can get, Guard Captain," Cullen replied quietly.  
  
Aveline conceded with a shrug and pointed over towards a group of guards and templars moving stones.  
  
"We heard voices under the rubble there. It's been a while, but..." she sighed. "But we're still hoping."  
  
Sebastian didn't need to hear anything else. He gave a terse nod before climbing over the varying slabs of marble. Archery left him nimble over the years, but there was now a lack of grace in the way his shoulders lurched forward.   
  
He silently and solemnly took orders, helping the ash and dust covered soldiers move the heavy slabs. The marble burned in his hands, radiating through the finely crafted gloves, and the pebbles scratched at his pristine armor. Emptiness washed over him as one of the soldiers called into the ditch again, everyone waiting with bated breath for a response. There was none. One of the smaller templars offered to slide down there to check, but her commanding office said no.  
  
Sebastian went down anyway.  
  
He heard the yelling as he hopped into the ditch, the remaining heat and dust more confining than up above. Sebastian coughed and the dust stung his eyes. He squinted and saw the blue and red robes of a Chantry brother, crushed under the massive weight of the rubble. Sebastian saw a limp, bloodied hand and a lifeless body. He blinked, once, twice, and turned away. Sebastian reached for the hand of a templar and climbed back up.  
  
"No one?"  
  
 _Not no one_ , Sebastian thought to himself. Brother Gabriel. He had come from Amarnthine, seeking sanctuary after the fall of the Howes, before finding purpose in the Chantry. They had prayed together, shared a morning meal on more than one occasion. Every night he lit a candle for his sister who had perished in the Blight. Not no one at all.  
  
But Sebastian just shook his head, confirming there was indeed no more life below their feet.


End file.
